Building an open water layout?

P

Paul W

Well-known member
Have any of you built your own open water layout? The Erie layout plans don't look quite up to snuff for a man of my "stature" (6'4" 300lb.) I am looking to foray into this kind of gunning, and was hopeful somebody of similar size had a good suggestion for a boat that can be transported on the tender or towed at mild speeds, preferably one I can make myself. Not because it's cost effective, but because it's satisfying. And cool. And fun!

If nobody has any ideas, I may well wind up just shooting from the hip, similar to Steve's two man built from a day sailer, but much uglier
Thanks in advance! I love this forum!
 
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I haven't seen any plans for the Kalash.

I actually saw Waterfowl works offers plans for an Erie two man, sounds like this will fit my needs nicely, capacity is around 600 lbs, which means I could be comfortable by myself or if I have a big enough crew I can trust in the tender, a friend.
 
The Busic two man may be an option for you. I believe Tony Homer has the plans for that. Probably the best most comprehensive plans available.
 
The Busic two man may be an option for you. I believe Tony Homer has the plans for that. Probably the best most comprehensive plans available.
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Tony homer on this site? If anyone knows of a boat build thread or pics of the boat itself that would be great. At the present time that's boat is how it's looking this project will go...
 
I have an mlb supermag that you would fit into comfortably. It's not towable but fits well in my 18' tender.
an Erie style two man probably would not float deep enough with you hunting solo leaving a shadow around the waterline. The "coffin" needs to be sized appropriately for the amount of weight most commonly loaded

I could send you pictures and dimensions of the supermag if it would help.
 
I have an mlb supermag that you would fit into comfortably. It's not towable but fits well in my 18' tender.
an Erie style two man probably would not float deep enough with you hunting solo leaving a shadow around the waterline. The "coffin" needs to be sized appropriately for the amount of weight most commonly loaded

I could send you pictures and dimensions of the supermag if it would help.
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That would be great. Message sent!
 
Paul, we are the same height. I am a littler over seventy pounds under you, but still wear an XL coat due to shoulder width. I hunt out of a Bankes Hercules-very comfortable as well as stable during hunter transfer. Beyond being designed to two at high speeds, you can easily cap the cockpit to make the boat water tight.

One thing you will run experience in a most of the layouts that you can throw across the gunnels of a tender is that they flex quite a bit on the hull side of the boat. For someone of your stature, that may not be a pleasant experience while bobbing around in the open on cold fall days hunting.

I don't know how truly towable a two-man boat could be;add-in the tender size necessary to safely handle this hull size and configuration...fun project, but you might not find the end result very personally satisifying or workable.
 
Paul, we are the same height. I am a littler over seventy pounds under you, but still wear an XL coat due to shoulder width. I hunt out of a Bankes Hercules-very comfortable as well as stable during hunter transfer. Beyond being designed to two at high speeds, you can easily cap the cockpit to make the boat water tight.

One thing you will run experience in a most of the layouts that you can throw across the gunnels of a tender is that they flex quite a bit on the hull side of the boat. For someone of your stature, that may not be a pleasant experience while bobbing around in the open on cold fall days hunting.

I don't know how truly towable a two-man boat could be;add-in the tender size necessary to safely handle this hull size and configuration...fun project, but you might not find the end result very personally satisifying or workable.
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The flex of the hull would be uncomfortable? The towability doesn't matter to me really, ideally it would be transported in the tender boat to and from the landing. Keeping it in the boat would be great for plowing down the lake too.
 
When your tender boat is sitting a quarter mile or more away and the little blob of fiberglass, or fiberglass and wood you are bouncing around in flexes dramatically on every wave passing under you, you begin to think about whether your last life insurance premium was paid! Seriously, the most two most common complaints made regarding layout boats is the hull construction quality, followed by cockpit space and comfort. A close third behind these two layout boat attributes is boat stability during gunner exchange.
 
Paul, Yes I am on here, You can modify the Erie plans to make a bigger boat but its tricky. Takes a little time drawing it all out. The 2 man plans may fit your needs fine. Need any help let me know We have built a few layouts of the past 12 years.

Kalash plans are no longer produced, We considered doing them but decided not to shoot our self in the foot with plans for a glass boat we produce and own.
 
I actually think making a custom size boat to fit the primary shooter is a great idea. I've thought about it for years.
I don't see any insurmountable problems. Start with a supermag style boat and change the coffin box to the appropriate displacement. A little math and researching. Sinkbox regulations should do it.
it would be great to add a little foot room to most existing plans to accommodate warm boots.
I'll get you the photos and dimensions when i get back home.
 
Guys, before you go starting to redesign these boats make sure your doing some math so they float properly. We have over 4 different designs of layout boats and each is different in its own way but the one thing they all have in common is they float level on the chine with the weight its designed for inside. There is so much more to gaining foot room than just dropping the foot area a few inches and not redesigning the location of the cockpit width etc of the whole boat. Stability is very important in a layout as you all are surely aware since your life is in your own hands on the open water. 1 slight mistake and your in big trouble. And lowering the box area to accommodate a lager foot can be just the recipe for this disaster as it will mess with the stability of the craft as well. I am not saying that it cannot be done, Just saying to make sure your doing the math to insure the boat still rides as it should and your center of gravity is still in the right place as discharging a firearm while seated in a improperly balanced boat at the exact right time could flip it just enough to send you overboard. Paul Busick and John Kalash designs are as good as they get. We designed our UFO based on the Busick style with the proper modifications to create a larger boat for big people, Then we engineered a towing hull for the ufo that works equally as well after 2 years on the design table creating the perfect float. But we had alot of help with both the design works and owning the rights to Busick and now Kalash it makes things much easier to work from. The easy way to do this would be start with the Busick plans and enlarge the whole plans to create what you are looking for or better yet buy one thats already been done for you. I assure you the amount of time and cost involved would be less to just buy a production boat.
 
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